Wisconsin utilities pledge to use union labor for clean energy construction.
Karl Ebert
Union workers will build most utility-scale renewable energy installations in Wisconsin under an agreement between the state's investor-owned utilities and five labor unions.
Each of the utilities has signed a pledge to use union labor "to the fullest extent possible," cementing existing relationships and ensuring that contractors use Wisconsin union workers on billions of dollars of future solar, wind and battery storage projects. The agreements include unions representing the building trades, electricians, laborers, carpenters and equipment operators.
Union officials hailed the pledge as a first-of-its-kind agreement in the U.S., one that will help build Wisconsin's construction workforce and train workers for jobs that will be in demand in the future.
"You're building the next generation of Wisconsin construction workers, and let's face it, we need that," said Kent Miller, president and business manager of the Wisconsin Laborers' District Council. "We have an aging workforce and we've got to get folks interested in these types of jobs, and let it be known that they lead to a long career that provides a pathway to a good middle class, family supporting wage, health care and retirement security."
An analysis by the Climate Jobs National Resource Center identified 95 renewable energy projects in Wisconsin that are either under construction, under regulatory review or announced. The center estimates those projects will create about 18,000 jobs.
Miller said the pledge grew out of Wisconsin unions' frustration with contractors for early solar projects who used out-of-state workers. That led to the unions' recognition they needed to amplify a message that in-state workers could do those jobs less expensively by eliminating the need to pay for travel, lodging and per diems.
"We were trying to navigate early on ... we've got these great relationships with utilities when it comes to legacy, traditional energy generation ‒ natural gas, coal ‒ why wouldn't we be considered partners in renewables?" he said.
The utilities for years have used union workers to build and run coal and gas power plants, and the pledge puts renewable projects on similar footing, Miller said.
The pledge's "to the fullest extent possible" language, included in agreements signed by WEC Energy Group, Alliant Energy, Madison Gas and Electric and Xcel Energy, recognizes that the developers who build the utilities' projects may not be able to fill all of the jobs with local union workers.
"We ask and encourage our developer partners, as they select their lead contractors, to make clear that they we need them to support the labor pledge and to use as much Wisconsin local labor as they can source," said Dan Krueger, WEC Energy Group's executive vice president for infrastructure and generation planning.
Krueger said WEC, the parent company of We Energies and Wisconsin Public Service Corp., sees the commitment to union labor as a way to ensure the work is done reliably and economically.
The pledge also reflects the power of the federal Inflation Reduction Act's tax incentives for large-scale renewable energy projects. The IRA provides additional incentives for projects that are built with union labor or pay the local prevailing wage. In addition, 15% of the workforce on a project must be registered in an apprenticeship to get the full IRA tax credits.
The maximum tax credit is 30% of the project cost. It falls to as as low as 6% if projects don't meet the workforce guidelines.
Due to the tax credits and existing relationships, Wisconsin utilities in recent years have prioritized union workforces. The pledge gives the unions certainty that will continue to be the case and better positions them to anticipate the need for workers as they enroll apprentices and build training programs, said Emily Pritzkow, executive director of the Wisconsin Building Trades Council.
"We're the best in the world at training people, it's what we do. But we need to be part of that bigger discussion of where (the utilities) are going and what are they doing, and this formalizes that and gives strength to the partnerships we rely on with our employers," she said.
The pact also is a step toward the IRA's goal of creating well-paying jobs that support families and communities, Pritzkow said.
"It has been borne out by studies that when these jobs are hired with sustainable wages, with health insurance, with gold standard training, they stay in the community. The resources that go into that training can be used time and time again for new projects, and these people live and work in their communities, and they invest that into local businesses," she said.
"It's really something that we can all be excited about."